Burling with fun

Although it's not an easy task, here is a way to create the burl effect on wood.

Tear cheesecloth into 6-foot-long pieces, and set them aside. Keep a supply of clean cloths handy so that when a cloth becomes loaded with glaze, you can discard it for a new one. Don't use any cloth that has frayed edges; small threads can get into the glaze and mar the finish.

Lay the door on a large table, preferably with enough room around it so that you can move from one area to another while working on it. Base-coat the entire surface with an eggshell or satin paint, custom-mixed to a warm, golden wood tone. Let this base coat dry thoroughly.

Working within the area defined by the painter's masking tape defining the border, coat the entire surface with a thin layer of satin oil varnish taken straight from the can. Ball a piece of cheesecloth in your hand, and moisten it by dipping it into the varnish can. Put just enough varnish on the cloth to make it slide easily on the surface and hold the color in place. Then dip the cloth into the burled wood color and work the color over the varnish-coated surface using squiggly circular strokes, as shown. (Fig. 1) Then go back and define the burls. Dip a pipe grainer into mineral spirits, and off-load the excess onto newspaper or paper towels until the grainer is damp, but not wet. Holding it at a 45-degree angle and as parallel to the surface as possible, make short radiating strokes through the burls. To add authenticity and emphasis to your pattern use a thin, pointed artist's brush to paint black rings around some of the shapes created by your strokes. Let the burled wood area dry thoroughly. From Creative Homeowner